Character Spotlight: Prince Fenris

Character Spotlight: Prince Fenris

WIP: Crown of Blood (unofficial title)

Role: Secondary Antagonist

Full Name: Fenris Andras Belial Arcturus Adecia Age: late teens, early 20s Gender/Sex: Cis Male Family: King Silas (father), Lady Lorelei (mother), King Idris (uncle), Prince Atlas (half-brother), Prince Caelum (half-brother), Prince Hyperion (half-brother), Prince Osiris (half-brother), Prince Zephyr (half-brother), Prince Ignis (half-brother), Princess Adrasteia (half-sister) Skills: Magic, sword-fighting Bio: The seventh prince of the Adecian royal family. With his mother's dubious lineage and his own stunning lack of notable skills or accomplishments, Prince Fenris is hardly considered a contender for the throne. Despite this, he consistently remains one of the most vocal about his ambitions.

It hardly helps that he's the second youngest out of his litter of half-siblings- with an entire lineup of older, more accomplished and well-respected brothers ahead of him, gaining so much as a leftover noble title is little more than a pipe dream. It wouldn't be quite so grating if not for the fact that the top star candidates for inheritance includes his sister, Adrasteia- the only sibling younger than him.

Time is running out for Prince Fenris- for all of them. Eventually, an heir must be named. And considering their father's own blood-stained rise to the throne, it's no secret what is expected of King Silas' children to prove worthy of the crown.

OC Moodboard Tag

@anyablackwood tagged me in this, and I love a good moodboard, so I'm always down! :)

Rules: Make a moodboard of 5+ images of your OC!

This is for my boy Femi <3

Gently tagging @writernopal , @tabswrites , @writinglittlebeasts and anyone else that feels like doing this. :)

Image credits:

1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7

Character Spotlight: Princess Adrasteia (Kairi)

WIP: Crown of Blood (unofficial title)

Role: Protagonist

Full Name: Adrasteia Pandora Circe Delphyne Deianira Adecia Age: mid to late teens Gender/Sex: Cis Female Orientation: Biromantic Asexual Relationship: Lord Cassius Grandguard (fiance) Family: King Silas (father), King Idris (uncle), Prince Atlas (half-brother), Prince Caelum (half-brother), Prince Hyperion (half-brother), Prince Osiris (half-brother), Prince Zephyr (half-brother), Prince Ignis (half-brother), Prince Fenris (half-brother) Skills: Magic, emotional manipulation

Bio: The youngest of the Adecian royal family, as well as the only princess. Historical precedence would see her as least eligible for the throne. But unfortunately, King Silas has little interest in traditions that don't suit him. With his own sordid history setting a new precedent, Adrasteia is considered the second most eligible heir to the throne, behind only First Prince Atlas.

With her unmatched magical prowess, scholarly achievements, and ringing likeness to her father, Princess Adrasteia has little need for maternal political backing or public favor. Not when King Silas himself is so blatantly partial towards her.

But there's yet another trick up Princess Adrasteia's sleeve; and only time will tell if it proves to be boon or bane. An uninvited guest in her mind and body, by the name of Kairi. Kairi's last memories was of a book she'd read, one that told the story of characters with very familiar names. But the longer Kairi masquerades as the infamous Adrasteia, the more difficult it becomes to distinguish where she begins and the princess ends- or if there was ever any difference at all.

Character Voice Tag

Thanks for tagging me @thepeculiarbird (here)! I'll go with the cast of Scrapyard Boys.

My phrase: "No one told me I wasn't allowed to kill them !"

Valen: "Oh, fuck off. Nobody told me I wasn't supposed to kill 'em - besides, if that fucker didn't wanna die, then they shouldn't have started chasing us in the first place."

Luke: "What?" (laughs, slightly manic) "They were a problem. Now they're not. Moving on!"

Adrien: "Oh shit - are they actually dead? Like honest-to-fuck Dead-dead?! Oh fuck me, that's just my luck huh. I guess it's Hide A Body Tuesday again. C'mon, ya layabouts let's get rid of the evidence, then we can go order a pizza."

Erin: "The dude was coming at me with a baseball bat! I just reacted! Josh may be an asshole, but that jerk did teach me to throw the first punch so fuck it! What do you mean, 'what am I going to do'? Fuck that, let's just leave the body before anyone sees us."

Maxwell: "(looks at the body, blinks once then twice) Oh shit. Alright, alright, alright, stay calm Maxxie, breathe in, breathe out, think happy thoughts -- I know! (to whoever is with her) I just didn't know it would kill them!!! (calls her dad) 'Okay so, Dad, I'm in a bit of a pickle can you come pick me up? Oh. I may or may not have accidentally blasted someone's eardrums out with my powers, it's a long story -- Alrighty, see ya in five! Thanks!"

Quince: "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh -- (gags). Oh shit, there's so much blood everywhere, oh fuck. I didn't mean to, oh my God, oh my gosh -! Oh damn I boiled someone alive again, oh fuck - it's like a smoothie of guts and viscera all over me oh shit --- (gags again, panic attack starts)"

Emily - "... Well damn. That was - a lot stronger than I had intended that explosion to be, I'm actually kinda impressed. What? That was a really good combustion. Of course, I'm celebrating it! At least it wasn't just a puff of hot air - like that had actual fire in it. I dig this. Aw c'mon! You didn't say I wasn't supposed to kill the maniac with the machine gun."

Josh - "Toodle-oo, fucker! Aw, wasn't I supposed to kill them? Did you want to do it instead? We can find someone else!"

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart, @ray-writes-n-shit

@writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers, @finickyfelix

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid,

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG

To Write Better Antagonists, Have Them Embody the Protagonist's Struggles

(Spoilers for The Devil Wears Prada, Avatar the Last Airbender, Kung Fu Panda 2, and The Hunger Games triology).

Writing antagonists and villains can be hard, especially if you don't know how to do so.

I think a lot of writers' first impulse is to start off with a placeholder antagonist, only to find that this character ends up falling flat. They finish their story only for readers to find the antagonist is not scary or threatening at all.

Often the default reaction to this is to focus on making the antagonist meaner, badder, or scarier in whatever way they can- or alternatively they introduce a Tragic Backstory to make them seem broken and sympathetic. Often, this ends up having the exact opposite effect. Instead of a compelling and genuinely terrifying villain, the writer ends up with a Big Bad Edge Lord who the reader just straight up does not care about, or actively rolls their eyes at (I'm looking at you, Marvel).

What makes an antagonist or villain intimidating is not the sheer power they hold, but the personal or existential threat they pose to the protagonist. Meaning, their strength as a character comes from how they tie into the themes of the story.

To show what I mean, here's four examples of the thematic roles an antagonist can serve:

1. A Dark Reflection of the Protagonist

The Devil Wears Prada

Miranda Priestly is initially presented as a terrible boss- which she is- but as the movie goes on, we get to see her in a new light. We see her as an bonafide expert in her field, and a professional woman who’s incredible at what she does. We even begin to see her personal struggles behind the scenes, where it’s clear her success has come at a huge personal cost. Her marriages fall apart, she spends every waking moment working, and because she’s a woman in the corporate world, people are constantly trying to tear her down.

The climax of the movie, and the moment that leaves the viewer most disturbed, does not feature Miranda abusing Andy worse than ever before, but praising her. Specifically, she praises her by saying “I see a great deal of myself in you.” Here, we realize that, like Miranda, Andy has put her job and her career before everything else that she cares about, and has been slowly sacrificing everything about herself just to keep it. While Andy's actions are still a far cry from Miranda's sadistic and abusive managerial style, it's similar enough to recognize that if she continues down her path, she will likely end up turning into Miranda.

In the movie's resolution, Andy does not defeat Miranda by impressing her or proving her wrong (she already did that around the half way mark). Instead, she rejects the values and ideals that her toxic workplace has been forcing on her, and chooses to leave it all behind.

2. An Obstacle to the Protagonist's Ideals

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Fire Lord Ozai is a Big Bad Baddie without much depth or redemptive qualities. Normally this makes for a bad antagonist (and it's probably the reason Ozai has very little screen time compared to his children), but in Avatar: The Last Airbender, it works.

Why?

Because his very existence is a threat to Aang's values of nonviolence and forgiveness.

Fire Lord Ozai cannot be reasoned with. He plans to conquer and burn down the world, and for most of the story, it seems that the only way to stop him is to kill him, which goes against everything Aang stands for. Whether or not Aang could beat the Fire Lord was never really in question, at least for any adults watching the show. The real tension of the final season came from whether Aang could defeat the Fire Lord without sacrificing the ideals he inherited from the nomads; i.e. whether he could fulfill the role of the Avatar while remaining true to himself and his culture.

In the end, he manages to find a way: he defeats the Fire Lord not by killing him, but by stripping him of his powers.

3. A Symbol of the Protagonist's Inner Struggle

Kung Fu Panda 2

Kung Fu Panda 2 is about Po's quest for inner peace, and the villain, Lord Shen, symbolizes everything that's standing in his way.

Po and Lord Shen have very different stories that share one thing in common: they both cannot let go of the past. Lord Shen is obsessed with proving his parents wrong and getting vengeance by conquering all of China. Po is struggling to come to terms with the fact that he is adopted and is desperate to figure out who he is and why he ended up left in a box of radishes as a baby.

Lord Shen symbolizes Po's inner struggle in two main ways: one, he was the source of the tragedy that separated him from his parents, and two, he reinforces Po's negative assumptions about himself. When Po realizes that Lord Shen knows about his past and confronts him, Lord Shen immediately tells Po exactly what he's afraid of hearing: that his parents abandoned him because they didn't love him. Po and the Furious Five struggle to beat Shen not because he's powerful, but because Po can't let go of the past, and this causes him to repeatedly freeze up in battle, which Shen uses to his advantage.

Po overcomes Shen when he does the one thing Shen is incapable of: he lets go of the past and finds inner peace. Po comes to terms with his tragic past and recognizes that it does not define him, while Shen holds on to his obsession of defying his fate, which ultimately leads to his downfall.

4. A Representative of a Harsh Reality or a Bigger System

The Hunger Games

We don't really see President Snow do all that much on his own. Most of the direct conflict that Katniss faces is not against him, but against his underlings and the larger Capitol government. The few interactions we see between her and President Snow are mainly the two of them talking, and this is where we see the kind of threat he poses.

President Snow never lies to Katniss, not even once, and this is the true genius behind his character. He doesn't have to lie to or deceive Katniss, because the truth is enough to keep her complicit.

Katniss knows that fighting Snow and the Capital will lead to total war and destruction- the kind where there are survivors, but no winners. Snow tells her to imagine thousands upon thousands of her people dead, and that's exactly what happens. The entirety of District 12 gets bombed to ashes, Peeta gets brainwashed and turned into a human weapon, and her sister Prim, the very person she set out to protect at the beginning of the story, dies just before the Capitol's surrender. The districts won, but at a devastating cost.

Even after President Snow is captured and put up for execution, he continues to hurt Katniss by telling her the truth. He tells her that the bombs that killed her sister Prim were not sent by him, but by the people on her side. He brings to her attention that the rebellion she's been fighting for might just implement a regime just as oppressive and brutal as the one they overthrew and he's right.

In the end, Katniss is not the one to kill President Snow. She passes up her one chance to kill him to take down President Coin instead.

Four Lines/Snippets Writing Share Tag!

Thanks for the tag @the-golden-comet (here) and @topazadine (here)!

My Lines: A line about kindness, a line about work, a line about a relative, a line about an animal; A line about regret, a line about landscapes, a line about the future, a line about weather Your Lines: A line about unconditional love, a line about cruelty, a line about being lost, a line about cute stuff

I'll go with lines from Scrapyard Boys, Supernova Initiative, Crooked Fable, and The Crystal of Ash for this one!

Kindness (The Crystal of Ash)

"Why...Why are you freeing me?" The Sorcerer asked, distrust barely masked by the politeness in his voice, as he refused to budge from the floor, despite his wrists having been unchained.

Declan stammered, "Because what they're doing to you isn't right." He said, exasperated by having to state the obvious.

The Sorcerer's eyes - like tiny galaxies with thousands of stars - narrowed as he looked up, "But I'm a monster."

Declan opened his mouth to answer, but Aelia spoke first, and the kind understanding in her voice was honestly the most jarring thing about this whole situation. "We know. But even monsters deserve dignity."

Work (Scrapyard Boys, Adrien's POV)

"And so you work for me - that's the way this story goes. If I say jump, you say how high. If I tell you to do something, you do it. So, when I tell you to get back the fuck in there and stop wasting my time with these stupid excuses, you go back and spend another hour or two on that stripper pole." He said, and though Adrien glared at him, the young man knew very well there wasn't much of a second option. The mobster tilted his head, brows furrowing "Got it?”

Relative (Supernova Initiative, Flashback Chapter)

Through tears, the young nobleman looked up, stiffened in place as she carded her hand through his ice-white locks, the motion akin to that of someone soothing a wounded stray. Even in silence, Kye recognized the brief, barely noticeable glint of outrage behind his Dad’s eyes, mirroring his own, before it was quickly buried under a mask of pliancy. “...Of course, my love.”

Animal (Scrapyard Boys, Valen's POV)

The older man looked down at him, amused. "Hm." Jake stalked around the kneeling mutant, slowly, like a tiger ready to pounce,  "That can be arranged. Eventually. But not until I get what I want."

Regret (The Crystal of Ash)

Nahrieh ran his hand over the smooth stone, tracing the detailed carvings on the temple wall, "I never should have left that island," He spoke, half-whispered, to no one in particular, as if to himself, "If I hadn't..." The Sorcerer's voice cracked with grief and a touch of anger, wondering, "Maybe... their fates would have been different. Kinder."

Landscapes (Supernova Initiative, Ch. 2)

At the moment, the three of them were making their way down a busy inner street in the center of the settlement, the perpetually dust-grey sky lit up by the neon lights of the myriad of shops, eateries, and clubs scattered around and into a maze of side streets.

Future (Scrapyard Boys)

 "Good plan!" He exclaimed, practically giddy, "Man, I can't wait for us to find Adrien's place - then we'll convince him to let us buy all the ice cream we want!"

Weather (Supernova Initiative)

Artemis flips him off with a scowl, glaring at the sharp sleet storm in the wind outside, "You are just the same sorry candy-ass as you were all those years ago, and I don't know why the fuck Jack keeps you in the crew."

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart, @ray-writes-n-shit

@writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers, @finickyfelix

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid,

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG